Reuters quoted Atlas Iron, Australia No4 iron ore miner said iron ore demand from China remains strong at the right price and is expected to pick up after Chinese New Year.

Mr Mark Hancock Chief Commercial Officer of Atlas Iron said "Provided that your tons are competitive with the market, the actual consumption rate is as strong as ever."

Atlas cut its production target to between 5.5 million and 5.7 million tonnes for the year to June 2012 from an earlier target of 6 million tonnes a year as mining, trucking and port operations were disrupted by cyclone Heidi this month.

Nearly all of its ore is sold to Chinese mills.

Mr Hancock said iron prices may be softer in the first quarter, although demand is expected to pick up following Chinese New Year. He said that "It's probably fair to say we don't see it getting to the highs of 2011 over 2012. But, equally, we expect that it'll be a pretty solid year from what we've heard."

Atlas expects iron ore prices to remain between around USD 120-150 a tonne longer term.

Atlas looking to double production to 12 million tonnes a year by June 2013 and then raise exports to 46 million tonnes a year in 2017 is often touted as a potential takeover target, possibly even for giant BHP Billiton.

Mr David Flanagan MD of Atlas said the AUD 2.8 billion company, which last year took over iron ore explorers FerrAus and Giralia was not just lining itself up for sale.

He said that "We don't think we're a fish floundering on a rock. We're doing ok. But he said the main attraction in Atlas is its access to 44.5 million tonnes of port capacity, which he said would generate AUD 5 billion in cash for any company that faces port constraints in the iron ore rich Pilbara region.”

He also said "Now Atlas's current market cap is a very small fraction of that. That's where people see the sweet spot in our business. We're very, very, very much focused on getting that value for that infrastructure and our assets into the hands of our business and our shareholders."

(Sourced from Reuters)